This interactive and practice-oriented course, originally developed in 2018 and comprehensively updated in 2021, covers the basics of Sustainable Finance while providing several opportunities to dive deeper. The course covers sustainable finance instruments, methodologies and frameworks for integrating sustainability into financial decisions, key global sustainable finance initiatives, and sustainable finance regulations. It is designed for interested participants from governments, academia, the financial sector, businesses, and civil society.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COURSE

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- Download syllabus

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 

- Explains the potential contribution of sustainable finance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change;

- Explains the core concepts of sustainable finance and the relevance of sustainability considerations for the key actors in the financial system;

- Describes the role that regulation and industry initiatives (self-regulation) play in shaping sustainable finance;

- Describes different sustainable finance products, such as bonds and loans, that may be available to provide the capital needed to support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

THE COURSE AT A GLANCE

This course is presented in four modules:

1. Sustainable Finance in Context

Two lessons describing the role that sustainable finance can play in delivering global goals on climate change and development.

2. Fundamentals of Sustainable Finance

Five interactive lessons explaining the core concepts of sustainable finance and the relevance of sustainability to finance sector decision-makers. 

3. Sustainable Finance: Regulation and Self-regulation

Three interactive lessons analysing the role that regulation and industry initiatives (self-regulation) play in shaping sustainable finance. 

4. Sustainable Finance Products

Six interactive lessons describing some of the products, such as bonds and loans, that may be available to provide the capital needed to support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

GET YOUR UN CERTIFICATE!

To complete the course and get your certificate, you will need to:

1. Take and pass four quizzes with minimum 70%
2. Download your certificate directly from the 'Certification' page

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This course was originally developed in 2018 by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, as part of their Strategic Alliance (STA) on Green Bond Market Development in G20 Emerging Economies, and the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), a One UN initiative bringing together five UN agencies. 

In 2021, the course was comprehensively updated with funding support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). We would further like to acknowledge STA and PAGE funding partners who made the development of the initial course possible: 

A special thanks to the following institutions for their technical contributions, review, time, and commitment: